Price delivers to lift Raiders

RED LION - Jared Price walked to the plate in the eighth inning Tuesday with the bases loaded and Twin Valley's fate in his hands.

An inning earlier, Price struck out on a bad pitch with the winning run on second base. This time, he stepped into the batter's box with supreme confidence.

"I thought, 'Let's end it,' " he said. "I was looking for anything in the strike zone. I was going to put it out there. I put it in the right spot."

Price fought off an inside pitch and flared it to left field, scoring pinch-runner Carsen Allen and giving the Raiders a pulsating 4-3 victory over Northern York in a District 3 Class AAA semifinal at Horn Field.

Second-seeded Twin Valley (23-3) advanced to its second district final in three years and will face fourth-seeded Mechanicsburg, an 8-2 winner over Palmyra, at 4 p.m. Thursday at Sovereign Bank Stadium in York.

The Raiders rallied from behind twice in the final three innings and qualified for the PIAA Tournament for the third consecutive year.

"That's the goal every year," coach Matt Royer said.

After Izzack Albright's RBI single in the third inning, Price carried a 1-0 lead into the sixth while pitching in the sweltering 95-degree heat.

"Jared was outstanding," Royer said. "We didn't know if he could pitch until 15 minutes before the game. He had a spasm (in his right arm) before the last game."

The sixth-seeded Polar Bears (18-5) didn't threaten until the sixth when Jon Mayer and Andrew Keirn laced RBI singles to give Northern York a 2-1 lead.

With runners on second and third in the Twin Valley sixth, Ryan Plank bounced a grounder up the middle and slid headfirst into the bag to beat the throw and score the tying run.

The Raiders had a chance to win it in the seventh. With runners on first and second and no outs, Albright flied out and Price struck out. After Keirn hit Jeremy Rahn, Matt McInaw grounded out, ending what could have been Twin Valley's last threat.

"I never think like that," Royer said. "I think there's hope down to the last out."

In the top of the eighth, Joe Tuschak thought he had given the Bears another one-run lead when he scorched a ball to center field. But Jon Abbadusky backpedaled and reached over the cyclone fence to rob Tuschak of a home run.

"I knew I was going to catch it," Abbadusky said. "I just didn't know where the fence was."

Two weeks ago, Abbadusky misjudged a fly ball in the Berks League final, allowing Gov. Mifflin to score the winning run. He redeemed himself Tuesday.

"Oh, my God," Price said. "I love that kid."

With Price tiring, Northern York put runners on first and second. Rahn relieved Price, walked one batter to load the bases and struck out another. But McInaw couldn't come up with a grouder, allowing the Bears to take the lead.

In their eighth, the Raiders put runners on first and second when Abbadusky lined one off Keirn's glove. Shortstop Tyler Betz threw wildly to first, allowing the tying run to score. Then Price delivered.

"We knew we could do well, but honestly I didn't think we'd do this well," Abbadusky said. "We're having a lot of fun."